uest
of Arabia. The distribution of the spoil was regulated by a divine law:
[126] the whole was faithfully collected in one common mass: a fifth
of the gold and silver, the prisoners and cattle, the movables and
immovables, was reserved by the prophet for pious and charitable uses;
the remainder was shared in adequate portions by the soldiers who had
obtained the victory or guarded the camp: the rewards of the slain
devolved to their widows and orphans; and the increase of cavalry was
encouraged by the allotment of a double share to the horse and to the
man. From all sides the roving Arabs were allured to the standard of
religion and plunder: the apostle sanctified the license of embracing
the female captives as their wives or concubines, and the enjoyment of
wealth and beauty was a feeble type of the joys of paradise prepared for
the valiant martyrs of the faith. "The sword," says Mahomet, "is the key
of heaven and of hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night
spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer:
whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven: at the day of judgment
his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion, and odoriferous as musk;
and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and
cherubim." The intrepid souls of the Arabs were fired with enthusiasm:
the picture of the invisible world was strongly painted on their
imagination; and the death which they had always despised became an
object of hope and desire. The Koran inculcates, in the most absolute
sense, the tenets of fate and predestination, which would extinguish
both industry and virtue, if the actions of man were governed by his
speculative belief. Yet their influence in every age has exalted the
courage of the Saracens and Turks. The first companions of Mahomet
advanced to battle with a fearless confidence: there is no danger where
there is no chance: they were ordained to perish in their beds; or they
were safe and invulnerable amidst the darts of the enemy. [127]

[Footnote 123: The viiith and ixth chapters of the Koran are the loudest
and most vehement; and Maracci (Prodromus, part iv. p. 59-64) has
inveighed with more justice than discretion against the double dealing
of the impostor.]

[Footnote 124: The xth and xxth chapters of Deuteronomy, with the
practical comments of Joshua, David, &c., are read with more awe
than satisfaction by the pious Christians of the present age. But
the